So in spiritual development, many people, after being inculcated in the world for a long period of time, have just gotten so locked up in worldly values and ideas that they really believe that what matters is owning a bigger car or having a happy family.  They really think that their mortgage payments are important.  They believe in a better facial tissue and that the right toothpaste can make your life perfect - the consumer mentality.  For these persons, it's a good idea to step back from the world for a while because they've forgotten that they're in the middle of eternity and that God is the source of all.  And that while all things are good, one should not become so entangled in the world that you don't see the world - not seeing the forest for the trees, in other words.

If you've gotten so wrapped up in your relationships with other human beings, in your career, in your thoughts about yourself and your own introspection, if you're too wrapped up in your own spiritual development and how well you're doing or how poorly you're doing, and your self-image and what others think of you, then you've lost it.

- "Living and Working in the World", The Lakshmi Series